On The Road: Hot rod has twelve where eight should be

Mechanical engineer swaps modern BMW V12 into a ’32 Ford, but not without plenty of changes

At first glance, this bright orange 1932 Ford might look like just another tastefully put together hot rod.

That is, until you pause and count the number of header pipes and the carburetors – there’s something other than a V8 filling the open engine bay.

Powered by a V12 BMW engine, this is no ordinary ’32 Ford Roadster.

“I’m a mechanical engineer,” says the car’s creator, Blaine Sawchuk of Calgary. “The reason I became an engineer is because of the automobile. I was very curious about internal combustion engines, automatic transmissions and rear ends and how everything works together.

“I think cars are the eighth wonder of the world. You put gas in them and they move people wherever they want to go.”

Over the years Sawchuk has modified a number of different cars, each one built to suit certain purposes. Some he raced, others, such as a replica of Ford’s iconic No. 7 Gulf GT40, were built for the road.

Six downdraft dual-throat Weber carburetors help power Sawchuck's Ford.

Blaine Sawchuck

The BMW-powered 1932 Ford of Blaine Sawchuck.

Blaine Sawchuck

An adaptor plate was formed to mate the GM manual gearbox to the BMW engine.

Blaine Sawchuck

The inside of Blaine Sawchuck's ’32 Ford is your typical hotrod, belying its modern powerplant.

Blaine Sawchuck

Custom engine mounts were obviously needed for the V12.

Blaine Sawchuck

Sawchuck made all the header flanges himself.

Blaine Sawchuck

“I’m not much of a car show guy, and I’d much rather be driving,” Sawchuk explains. “For me, it’s all about the mechanics and getting the most out of things that spin.”

In 2012, it was in that spirit that Sawchuk began planning to build a V12-powered hot rod, something he’d long dreamed of doing. He was going to start from scratch, welding together a frame and buying a reproduction body. Instead, he stumbled across a ’32 Ford that was completely finished, and it was for sale.

“It was all done, and it had a 327-cubic-inch engine backed up by a Tremec five-speed transmission. I looked at the costs and I could get the car for half the price of parts to build my own. So I bought it, pulled the 327 and sold the engine,” Sawchuk says.

With the ’32 Ford in his home workshop, Sawchuk next located a 1994 BMW 750i, a U.S. consulate car that had done service in Hawaii. It was for sale at a dealership in Vancouver for $10,500. Sawchuk bought it, shipped it to Calgary, and dismantled the BMW for its V12 with only 43,000 kilometres on the odometer.

Of the choice of the BMW powerplant, Sawchuk admits, “I would have used a Jaguar V12 engine but they’re getting harder to come by. The BMW 750 was easier to find.”

Sawchuk had no plans, however, to simply swap the BMW engine into the ’32 Ford, that wouldn’t be elegant enough. He wanted to strip as much away from the engine so it would stand out in the open engine bay.

The BMW-powered 1932 Ford of Blaine Sawchuck.Blaine Sawchuck

To do this, he cut the sheetmetal from the front of the BMW, leaving the V12 in place while he designed and machined a common plenum intake manifold to hold six downdraft dual-throat Weber carburetors.

That’s the fuel, Sawchuk next required spark. No one made a system to operate the way he envisioned, so working with parts supplied by ignition company Electromotive, Sawchuk created his own electronic system to run the V12.

“I connected the new fuel and ignition systems to the V12 engine and ran it in the BMW,” Sawchuk says. “I wept when I hit the key and the engine started, and when I knew it would run, I pulled the engine out of the donor BMW and began working on an adaptor plate (and clutch components) that would mate the BMW engine to the GM Tremec five-speed manual transmission.”

That done, in order for the BMW engine to fit between the rails of the ’32 Ford chassis, Sawchuk had to cut away some of the engine block and create his own aluminum oil pan by folding and TIG-welding together sheet aluminum.

Sawchuk made stainless steel header flanges for six pipes to a side but had the rest of the exhaust system custom made by Unobtanium Welding in Langdon, Alta.

The rest of the car, apart from different front wheels and new tires, is exactly the way Sawchuk bought the ’32 Ford. Three years after starting the project with hundreds of hours working on his metal lathe and milling machine, the V12 hot rod rolled out of the shop.

“To me now, this is mechanical artwork,” Sawchuk says. “All you have to do is touch the key and the BMW engine starts and runs like a Swiss watch. And, at 6,000 rpm it sounds like a 1968 Ferrari GTO engine, very cool and very smooth. The car’s got a heater and heated seats, and I plan on driving the heck out of it.”

Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or gregwilliams@shaw.ca.

What’s next

Aug. 12 Airdrie Summer Classic Car Show and Shine at Nose Creek Park in Airdrie, AB. Presented by the Time Travellers (with two ‘l’s) Car Club of Airdrie, all makes and models plus motorcycles are welcome. Live music by Ronnie and the Fixations, CCMR Mobile Dyno, Papa Tony’s In the Groove Raceway and Zeeb’s Engine Build Off. Pre register Friday Aug. 11 from 6pm to 9pm at the Hampton Inn & Suites, Airdrie, or show day from 8am to noon, registration is $10 per vehicle. Show runs from 10am to 4pm, spectators are asked to bring a food bank donation. Rain date is Aug. 26. Visit timetravellers.ca, email timetravellers@hotmail.ca or call 403-862-4855 for more information.

Aug. 19 Northern Mopars 28th annual all Mopar/AMC show & shine at the Capitol Hill Community Centre (1531 21st avenue N.W.). Vehicle registration from 9am until noon, non-comp entry $10 or judged for trophies $20, show will run until approximately 4pm. This year Northern Mopars celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Plymouth GTX & Dodge R/T. Contact Larry at (403) 243-4703 or 4gearag@gmail.com.